Master of Science (MS)

Leadership

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Program
Leadership

Admissions criteria for the Master of Science in Leadership (MSL)

Graduate Admissions - Masters level

Prospective students are required to submit the following: 

  • Completion of application for admission
  • Official transcripts for bachelor or graduate degree within 5 weeks of the class start date (refer to Conditional Acceptance).  (All credentials earned outside the United States must be evaluated by a NACES or AICE-member credential evaluation service).  Please speak with an admissions representative for more information.

Note: See program notes and specific requirements below for each graduate - masters level degree program

Specific requirements for admission to classified graduate status are: 

  • A bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university.
  • Completion of application for admission.
  • A 2.7 overall grade point average or higher on completed requirements for the baccalaureate degree, or an earned graduate degree from an accredited institution with a CGPA of 3.0 or higher.

Provisional Admission:

Applicants with an undergraduate degree CGPA of less than a 2.7, but not lower than a 2.3, or a graduate degree CGPA of less than 3.0, but not lower than a 2.7, will be considered for provisional admission. Students who do not attain a 3.0 GPA in the first quarter will be dismissed. Students cannot appeal the dismissal from the university as a result of failure to meet the conditions of provisional admission.

For additional admissions information please see the admissions section here. 

Offered at Columbia, Online Programs, Savannah, and Virginia Beach.

Note: Not all Online Program offerings are available to residents of all U.S. states. Please contact an admissions representative for further information.

The Master of Science in Leadership degree program is designed to provide students the opportunity to develop skills in leadership, communication, problem solving and teamwork for use in a broad range of organizations. These skills are critical for successfully managing and leading organizations in today's dynamic organizational environment.

The 12-course (48 credit hours) program is designed for experienced professionals seeking to advance in their careers and for individuals with limited professional experience seeking to develop skills that can prepare them to seek employment managing and leading individuals, teams, departments and organizations.

Program Student Learning Outcomes

Graduates will be able to: 

  1. Assess how individuals, cultures, society, ethics, and psychological principles affect the actions and decisions of leaders as they influence individual and organizational stakeholders.
  2. Influence others through effective communication skills that present clear, scholarly, and persuasive arguments.
  3. Apply critical thinking to examine qualitative and quantitative data, including evaluation and synthesis of data for problem recognition and problem solving.
  4. Demonstrate information literacy, including the ability to determine the extent of information needed, assess the needed information, evaluate information and its sources critically, and use information effectively, ethically, and legally to accomplish a specific purpose. 

Master of Science in Leadership: 48 Credits

Foundation: Personal Leadership: 12 Credits

Course Code
Title
Credits
Leading organization wide structural and cultural change is a significant challenge facing today's organizations. This course will explore the nature of these changes, the basis for their adoption, and both the management and leadership of organizational change in the 21st century, including issues of managing growth, resistance to change, intervention phases, crisis management, inter and intra-group conflict/power.

Credits : 4

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This course compares and contrasts the disciplines of leadership and management with an emphasis on fostering organization culture and personal ethics. Topics include historical and contemporary leadership and management theories, current leadership research, and the practice of leadership and management across a wide variety of organizational contexts.

Credits : 4

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Sub-Total Credits
12

Core: Organizational Leadership: 32 Credits

Course Code
Title
Credits
This course explores a variety of leadership approaches, with a special emphasis on leading with emotional intelligence. Topics include the roles and functions of messages and messaging activities, empathy and self-awareness, and emotional intelligence used in the practice and outcomes of leadership.

Credits : 4

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This course explores the theories and applications of coaching and professional development by a leader with individuals on his/her staff. Topics include coaching strategies employed across a variety of situational contexts and organizational and professional development employed by leaders.

Credits : 4

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This course explores a variety of leadership approaches, with a special emphasis on leading with emotional intelligence. Topics include the roles and functions of messages and messaging activities, empathy and self-awareness, and emotional intelligence used in the practice and outcomes of leadership.

Credits : 4

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This course explores the theories and applications of single and multiparty negotiations in a wide variety of organizational contexts. Topics may include the exploration of negotiation as an art and science, consideration of negotiating behaviors and characteristics, and strategies to achieve negotiation success for the stakeholders involved.

Credits : 4

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This course continues to develop applications of single and multiparty negotiations in international organizational contexts. Topics include advanced role playing among different stakeholders, impact of culture and political differences, and coalition building strategies.

Credits : 4

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This course explores human resources from a strategic perspective to help an organization achieve its goals. Topics may include investments in human resources, workforce demographic trends, theories of human resource management, workforce training and development, workforce utilization and assessment, and performance management systems.

Credits : 4

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This course explores the theoretical grounding and practical approaches necessary to effectively diagnose organizational problems, develop intervention approaches, and implement organizational solutions. Topics may include entering and contracting, organizational diagnostic models, organizational surveys, change impediments, managing the change process, organizational/interpersonal/group interventions, and evaluation approaches.

Credits : 4

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Sub-Total Credits
32

Capstone: 4 Credits

Course Code
Title
Credits
This capstone course explores the methods of providing leadership in a firm, or a significant division thereof in an internationally competitive environment. Students will develop an understanding of the way in which general managers integrate leadership and strategy in today's market economy.

Credits : 4

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Sub-Total Credits
4
Total Credits
48